


Something More Than Me

by mushroomprince



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Mild Gore, Not Beta Read, Past Character Death, Redemption, Sonic Forces
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-09 00:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19878430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mushroomprince/pseuds/mushroomprince
Summary: In an alternate universe where Infinite chose to seek revenge rather than destruction with the Phantom Ruby, the jackal finds himself right back where he started: full of grief and powerless against the Ultimate Life-form. What will he do with himself now?





	1. Chapter 1

“So much for being the Ultimate Lifeform, huh?” Shadow could practically hear the smirk that spread across Infinite’s face. The jackal stood over him, his heels digging down into the hedgehog’s chest. He was pinned under the weight of it, only able to breathe in ragged gasps, completely at the enemy's mercy. He wouldn’t be surprised if his lungs were bruised or even punctured. When the Resistance arrived at the Eggman Empire Fortress, Infinite had charged at him at full velocity. Shadow wasn’t worried at the time, he knew they had a chance- a rookie had imprinted one of the doctor’s prototypes. They now had a way to dissipate Infinite’s virtual reality projections, possibly even a way to exhaust his energy. 

But Infinite must have known, because as soon as he made contact with the hedgehog, they both blinked away from the middle of the battle, and when Sonic and his rookie friend arrived, the jackal simply flicked his wrist and sent them both through another of his inky portals to that Nullspace without even breaking a sweat. 

Shadow was left to fend for himself. 

“Tell me, Shadow. How does it feel? To be so defenseless, so _weak…_ no powers, no friends, no family _,_ to help you now?” Shadow pretended to not hear the question. The eye behind Infinite’s mask narrowed in disappointment. Shadow gagged as a swift kick to his chest was followed by a piercing crack. 

“Do- Do yo- you expect us to ss- surrender?”

Infinite chuckled. The almost innocent laughter bubbled up and morphed into a full cackle. “Of course not, Shadow. I expect you to _die_.” The Phantom Ruby pulsed bright, and Shadow felt the concrete beneath him shift like loose sand, pulling him under until his hands and feet were completely submerged. Infinite then turned his focus to the structural beams that had been exposed and bent out of shape during their battle. They shook loose from their foundations with a wave of his hand, spinning themselves into needle-like spears within the blink of an eye. Over a dozen of them were soon pointed at Shadow’s exposed chest. 

Shadow did not struggle. He simply closed his eyes, and kept his breathing even. He would not give Infinite the satisfaction of feeling his fear. 

He would later with he hadn’t closed his eyes, so he could have seen Infinite’s face when he was hit in the back of his head by a blue and purple blur.

The force of the blow broke Infinite’s concentration, along with his illusions. He growled in frustration before turning to face whoever had attacked him. He was met with the blue hedgehog and purple resistance fighters that seemed to throw a wrench in his revenge plot at every chance they got. 

“Hey, conehead! Miss us?”

The leopard smiled at Sonic’s quip and after failing to hold back a laugh, made an unflattering snort. “That’s a good one.”

Sonic looked as though he was about to thank the leopard before a slab of metal ricocheted past him, nearly colliding with his head. 

“Hey, I think your aim is a little off, bud. Let my friend show you how it’s done.” The leopard then fired a round of blasts from their wispon at jackal. If Infinite had concentrated, the shots could phase through him, or been turned back at the shooter, or simply been blocked, but he was hit once more in the back by a hedgehog, right into the blasts. 

Shadow the Hedgehog tucked out of his dash and staggered back to his feet. “You’re welcome.”, he said, turning to Sonic with a tired yet determined look in eye. 

The trio launched into a series of spin dashes, chaos emerald fueled attacks, wispon blasts and combo moves. They kept light on their feet, seeming to always be one step out of the way of Infinite’s attacks or able to block them thanks to the rookie’s ruby and quick thinking. 

He couldn’t hit them, but they beat him to the ground. 

“Ready to give up, foilface?”, the leopard said, almost matching Sonic’s previous tone. 

Infinite was now on his knees, out of breath. His mask was thrashed beyond repair, having received a large, jagged hole on the right side from an especially powerful combo move. The red film hadn’t exaggerated how fearsome he was. His eye, with a completely red sclera, burned with hatred. He scowled at the trio through lips with scars so gaping that one could see the inside of his mouth from gum to gum. 

“Never.” Infinite raised a hand and the telltale cubes of his illusion traps began to form in his palm. The leopard pointed their wispon at him. “Well, we gave him the chance,” they argued, “so I guess we should just knock him out now?” 

Before the fighter could charge up a shot, Infinite gasped out and doubled over. His hand shot up to the Phantom Ruby, whose light only let off a soft glow underneath his palm now. His entire body shuddered and shifted as if it were one of his own illusions. The leopard put down their wispon as they looked in horror. Had they been fighting a projection this whole time? No, he would have disappeared sooner if that were the case. They had truly defeated Infinite, and now he looked as scared as a newborn pup. 

“No! I need more time!” he pleaded. Whoever or whatever he was addressing did not care for his whining as he was shaking on the floor one second and shot up to the tallest peak of the Fortress the next. He fell to the floor with a dull thud.

Something was off with Ruby, he couldn’t sense the power. Eggman had been waiting for him with a displeased look on his face and a pair of pliers in hand. Infinite could tell exactly what the doctor was planning to do with them. He swerved his head from side to side, looking, hoping for somewhere to run to, to escape what would happen next. He found nothing. He felt his arms tremble under his weight, threatening to collapse him onto the floor. Was he scared? What was he, a sniffling little pup? 

Eggman grabbed him by the arm and Infinite thrashed against his grip. He landed a kick to the doctor’s side, earning him a satisfying shout of pain. Unfortunately that joy was short-lived. Eggman called for those two robot henchmen of his, and without the Phantom Ruby’s power nor his own full strength, they pinned him down with ease. Eggman grabbed them gem with the pliers, but before he could yank the whole thing out Infinite used the advantage of the doctors closeness to headbutt him. Eggman’s grasp slipped mid-pull. This made the doctor impatient, and he tried once more and pushed the pliers downwards, breaking the gem sloppily into two chunks, leaving the smaller portion in Infinite’s chest. Infinite bit back a scream as burning pain radiated from the wound. He knew he was bleeding profusely. He could only lay and watch the doctors legs blur as darkness seeped into his vision. 

As the world fell into darkness, Infinite could only wonder if this is what death felt like. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Infinite finds himself some place familiar.

Infinite awoke two days later in the middle of nowhere wet to the bone. Well, not the middle of nowhere, he supposed. He could make out blurry outlines of something above him. The foliage eventually sharped and he could not tell he was on the forest floor of what he presumed to be Mystic Jungle. Figures that he’d end up back here of all places. 

Everything ached, the middle of his chest most of all. He dragged his hand up to the source, ignoring his body’s protest. Where he once felt the Phantom Ruby was a sloped expanse of puckered, sensitive tissue. He brushed against it all lightly, not wanting to cause more pain or risk opening anything. Bits of the scarring felt smooth to the touch, and Infinite guessed that they were gem shards. Part of the Ruby must be still in his chest. A voice in the back of his head told him to test the limits to the power he now had, but he pushed that thought back. What was the point?

He let his arm slide back down to his side. Chaos, he was tired. The thought of just lying there was cut off by the little voice, though, which told him he was being a wimp and to get the hell out of the mud. This time he listened, grunting as he stretched sore muscles to prop himself up. It was hard to believe he’d gotten this worked up from that fight. It was hard to believe he’d _lost_ that fight. He had had so much power. He had been stronger, even than the hedgehog who had beat the Ultimate Lifeform… and yet, they still beat him. And now he was practically back to square one. Unless there was something stronger than the Phantom Ruby… he’d never avenge his squad… his family. 

What the hell was he going to do with himself?

Well, he supposed he couldn’t stay here. Even if he felt like shit in every way one could, he didn’t have a death wish.But before he went anywhere, he would need some clothes. His black ensemble and the ruined metal mask would be all too recognizable, and he would need to cover his recognizable features- namely his scars and markings, and his bright red eye. Hopefully that wouldn’t be too hard. There would probably be some sort of charity around for those who had lost their homes to the doctor’s attacks. ...His attacks.

He may have focused on Shadow… but he had leveled buildings and taken lives. How many family had he torn apart in his rage? The thought left a sour taste in his mouth. Or maybe that was just blood. He wouldn’t be entirely surprised if it was the latter. 

Infinite decided to head west. The terrain was a bit difficult- there were lots of low lying plants and vines, and the trees often had thick, jutting roots that one could only climb over to get around. His chest was burning by the time he reached some helpful landmark- water. Infinite collapsed onto his knees by the stream, splashing water on his face and taking small sips of water from what he could cup in his hands. This perked him up a bit, but he also became aware of the weariness setting into his bones and the dryness of his throat. The former was surprising, given that he had likely slept for at least half a day away given that it was now evening. 

He took a few more drinks before deciding to move on and follow the stream downstream. Infinite knew for a fact this route would either lead him to civilization or a bigger body of water if he followed it for long enough. He found either favorable at the moment. 

He didn’t have to wait long to get an answer. The stream became a river, and that river cut through a village. While some buildings were on the forest floor, as one would expect, there were just as many homes and shops placed on large, wooden platforms that jutted out of trees, connected to one another by log bridges. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, some of the buildings were quite modern, made of plaster or brick rather than wood. Looking closer, Infinite could see people milling about, transporting planks and patching the surrounding architecture. This place must have been partially destroyed during the war. 

He was surprised to find a place like this even existed- he was sure the forest had been long uninhabited by Mobians. This place must have been discovered only after the doctor had abandoned his casino project, and for that he was grateful. He would have hated to run into a Badnik before a person. 

Infinite continued to stare for a moment before ducking back into the foliage outside the clearing. Across town he’d seen a clothesline, and while he wasn’t sure if the clothes would even fit him, this Slinking behind the line, he snatched up a pair of camo pants, a hoodie, and the only shirt he saw before ducking back to pull them on. He unraveled his bandana and tied it onto his arm before wriggling into the sweatshirt. It was another thing, albeit a small one, that could give him away, but he couldn’t bear to part with it. 

Nothing ended up fitting. The only thing keeping the pants up was a convenient drawstring, and the shirt pinched around his arms. The sweatshirt was the biggest of all, but Infinite liked how it hung loosely on him, obscuring his hands almost completely. It meant he didn’t have to look at the shirt. 

The tee he had grabbed made him gag at first sight, definitely belonged to a smaller child. One who looked up to people like Sonic or Tails or Amy, or even… ugh,  _ Shadow _ . Of course the child had idolized the cool, broody member of the Resistance, who hadn’t at some point. There’s a reason people tell you to never meet your heroes. 

He pulled the hood and pulled the strings tight over his head to better hide his face. He would have to snatch up something for that soon. It would be smart to find some shoes as well… The symbols on their soles weren’t exactly subtle. Infinite lingers at the outskirts for a bit longer before ducking his head low and moving towards to the shop fronts and porches of the lower levels. He snaps up a pair of circular sunglasses from a display rack, some combat books caked with mud someone had left on their porch, and a sick mask from an open tent where medical supplies were set up. It almost felt too easy… after all, sleight of hand had never been his strength. That had always been more of Lance’s thing. 

Lance. Chaos, he missed that idiot. 

He was interrupted from his thoughts by the unpleasant feeling of someone poking his shoulder with their claw. “Hey, are you lost?” 

He spun around and was met by the concerned face of a sloth boy, probably a year or two younger than himself. The sloth had a curly, muted green pelt and a moppish dreads that almost covered his droopy eyes. 

Infinite instinctually dropped his voice down an octave to reply. “I-” No, that wasn’t good. He sounded too much like, well, Infinite. He tried again, using his actual voice. He hated it, but it was convenient.

“I’m here to help rebuild? The guys who sent me here didn’t really tell me where I was needed, though.”

“Oh! Great, we could still use any extra hands we can get! The Resistance sent you, right?”

“... Yes.”

“Awesome. Those guys have been a real help. You can start by helping me carry some building stuff over… there.” The sloth points upwards, to a home Infinite can barely make out the details for, but he is certain has had a big hole ripped into its side. He simply nods in response.

“I’m Rustle, by the way. And you are?”

“Anubis.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know infinite canonically has a deep voice always but i like the idea that he intentionally drops it to sound intimidating

**Author's Note:**

> props to anyone who can guess where the title came from.


End file.
